MUMBAI: The KIA X Games Asia (KXG), an action sports competition, will take place in Shanghai for its sixth consecutive year from 28 April to 1 May.

150 athletes from more than 30 countries will be engaged in world-class competition in the sports of Skateboard, BMX, Aggressive In-Line Skate and Moto X Big Air demonstrations. This year?s competitors and spectators can also look forward to an added challenge with a newly designed street course that is expected to provide a treat for spectators.

The event will be organised by ESPN Star Sports? (ESS) event management and ESPN X Games with title sponsor Kia Motors. Participants will include seven-time X Games Skateboard gold medallist Pierre-Luc Gagnon, who will attempt to win his third Mini-MegaRamp title in just as many years. Accompanying him is eight-time gold medallist Andy Macdonald and two-time gold medallist Sandro Dias. Headlining a BMX field are four-time X Games gold medallist Kevin Robinson, three-time gold medallist Chad Kagy, nine-time medallist Simon Tabron, six-time medallist Steven McCann and two-time X Games Asia gold medallist Vince Byron.

Meanwhile, Japan?s Takeshi Yasutoko will attempt to win an unprecedented sixth-consecutive gold medal in the Aggressive Inline Vert ? one for each year the competition has been held in Shanghai.

Last year?s event saw attendance records set yet again for a fifth consecutive year with 62,100 spectators over the course of four days of competition. Since 2007, the KIA X Games Asia has attracted more than 261,700 visitors and is expected to draw another large crowd this year in Shanghai.

Additionally, the event will be telecast on ESPN International networks in the U.S., Latin America, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East and Africa.

ESS VP, event management Harvey Davis said, ?We are delighted to see KIA X Games Asia establish itself as an iconic sports event with our sponsors and being the Year of the Dragon, we are looking forward to another successful edition in Shanghai. The event has grown spectacularly over the years and this year again will feature an outstanding list of world-class athletes across all competitions. We look forward to showcasing another exhilarating event to our fans in Shanghai?.

MUMBAI: On 2 December 2011, the BBC World News ?Horizons? series visits China, currently the second largest economy in the world, to examine how Chinese brands and manufacturing are growing in significance around the world.

Horizons presenter Adam Shaw is in Shanghai where manufacturers believe that re-shaping the image of China, with good designs and presentation, will establish more desirable international brands for export to the West.

Shaw visits a company building brands around traditional Chinese values, including tea ceremonies, to find a resonance in potential export markets. He also visits a company that produces contemporary bone china designs, which are then sold to exclusive shops and displayed in five star hotels around the world.

Shaw meets Dr Chen Junsong, lecturer at the China European International Business School. Dr Junsong says; "In many markets the sale of big brand automobiles has shrunk. China is one of the markets which has a different situation. China is currently the second largest market for BMW, Audi and Mercedes and it is possible that the country could overtake the number of sales in Germany next year. The sale of many European brands in China has increased by 40 per cent, so you could say that without China, some leading European brands would be having a harder time."

Shaw said, "European brands are still very popular in China, and the rest of Asia, but the markets indicate that Chinese brands will become more influential in the future. The next generation will experience the rise of Chinese influence. Not just its economic influence, but its social and cultural influence as well. In the future it could be Chinese brands, faces and values that dominate the shelves of shops the world over."